Weed for All? Bill Introduced to Legalize Marijuana

How do you feel about marijuana? Do you think it should be legalized and taxed? Perhaps. That would be a massive industry. However, the drug is mind altering. I, myself, would not put myself in a situation where I could not handle myself or be aware of my surroundings. Situations like that are how you get killed.

So, should a mind altering drug be legalized?

U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) seems to think so. He introduced a bill that would “reverse decades of failed drug policy that has disproportionately impacted communities of color.”

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The Marijuana Justice Act would remove marijuana from the list of controlled substances, making it legal at the federal level. The bill would also incentivize states through federal funds to change their marijuana laws if those laws were shown to have a disproportionate effect on low-income individuals and/or people of color.

The bill is retroactive and would apply to those already serving time behind bars for marijuana-related offenses, providing for a judge’s review of marijuana sentences.

He continued, “Descheduling marijuana and applying that change retroactively to people currently serving time for marijuana offenses is a necessary step in correcting this unjust system. States have so far led the way in reforming our criminal justice system and it’s about time the federal government catches up and begins to assert leadership.”

“This bill is the most ambitious marijuana bill we have seen in Congress,” Queen Adesuyi, Policy Associate at the Drug Policy Alliance, said. “Uniquely, it recognizes the fact that people of color have borne the brunt of the failed war on drugs and seeks to repair the damage done. We applaud Senator Booker for his leadership on this issue.”

Arrests for marijuana now account for more than half of all drug arrests in the U.S., and black Americans too often bear the brunt of these misguided laws. Blacks are nearly four times as likely to be arrested for marijuana possession as whites are, despite the fact that there’s no difference in marijuana use between the two groups.

Current drug laws have led police officers to arrest more Americans for possession of marijuana than for all violent crimes – armed robbery, murder, sexual assault – combined.

· Remove marijuana from the list of controlled substances, making it legal at the federal level;

· Incentivize states through federal funds to change their marijuana laws if marijuana in the state is illegal and the state disproportionately arrests or incarcerates low-income individuals and people of color for marijuana-related offenses;

· Automatically expunge federal marijuana use and possession crimes;

· Allow an individual currently serving time in federal prison for marijuana use or possession crimes to petition a court for a resentencing;

· Create a community reinvestment fund to reinvest in communities most impacted by the failed War on Drugs and allow those funds to be invested in the following programs:

Job training;
Reentry services;
Expenses related to the expungement of convictions;
Public libraries;
Community centers;
Programs and opportunities dedicated to youth; and
Health education programs.

I think these are wasted efforts. While I agree with marijuana for medical use, I think it is crazy to legalize it for recreational use. What do you think?

The views expressed in this opinion article are solely those of their author and are not necessarily either shared or endorsed by EagleRising.com

About the author

Keely Sharp

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